Paramountcy Doctrine

The paramountcy doctrine is essentially derived from four U.S. Supreme Court cases: United States v. Maine, 420 U.S. 515, 43 L. Ed. 2d 363, 95 S. Ct. 1155 (1975); United States v. Louisiana, 339 U.S. 699, 94 L. Ed. 1216, 70 S. Ct. 914 (1950); United States v. Texas, 339 U.S. 707, 94 L. Ed. 1221, 70 S. Ct. 918 (1950); United States v. California, 332 U.S. 19, 91 L. Ed. 1889, 67 S. Ct. 1658 (1947). where "the federal government and various coastal states disputed ownership and control of the territorial sea and the adjacent portion of the outer continental shelf." Native Village of Eyak v. Trawler Diane Marie, Inc., 154 F.3d 1090, 1092 (9th Cir. 1998), cert. denied, 527 U.S. 1003, 144 L. Ed. 2d 234, 119 S. Ct. 2337 (1999). These cases established that the federal government has paramount rights in lands and natural resources in the offshore seabed as an incident of national sovereignty.